Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes is a team that has never 'copied other people'

Lewis Hamilton commented on Mercedes W14's sidepod design and stated that the team has always developed on its own and has never been one who copies other people.

Despite the fact that many of the teams have changed their sidepod design for the upcoming season of Formula 1, Mercedes, even though they faced major aerodynamic issues last season, have still kept the same design of their sidepod, which was famously called the 'zero pod.'

Lewis Hamilton believes that not copying other teams is very creative and innovative, and hence the team follows the same. PlanetF1 quoted him:

"I don’t think we’ve ever been a team that copied other people. We’ve always had our own mind and have always been a team that’s incredibly creative and innovative and likes to do it our way. And I think that’s worked in the past."

The 2022 season of F1 introduced new aerodynamic regulations. Ahead of this, there were mainly two types of sidepods that the teams used: the inner curved and the outer curved. However, Mercedes introduced a unique concept of 'zero pod' which was different from all of the teams. This design was blamed a lot of times for the loss the team faced throughout the season.

However, during the launch of the much-hyped W14 car, it was seen that the team has still continued with the design despite other teams like McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin copying Red Bull's design.

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Lewis Hamilton is hopeful for the 2023 F1 season

Lewis Hamilton faced a lot of issues in 2022 with the W13's driveabilty, ultimately ending the season with no wins or pole positions, for the first time in his Formula 1 career. However, his teammate George Russell was able to pull off a victory during the 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Speaking about the new design of the car, Lewis Hamilton stated that there are some parts of the car that cannot be completely changed, however, he has 'faith' in the team and the engineers. He believes that the car will be much more competitive and if not, the team will find a solution:

"And then we come into a new season with a car that looks similar in many ways, because some elements are really difficult to change but you just have to have faith in it the engineers have, and I have."

"I hope that the car has the characteristics we require when we run it. But if not, then we will find a way. I think it’s the job of engineers and designers to find solutions. So we’re on ready for anything that could happen."

Lewis Hamilton earlier also stated that he was hopeful of a championship battle in the upcoming season with at least two other teams: Ferrari and Red Bull. Not only Hamilton, but this has been expected by many spectators and analysts. If it actually happens, 2023 could take a major turn for any of the teams.